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Specifying the Expiration Month

When you create a formula that contains one or more futures contracts, futures options, or stock options, you may want to specify a specific expiration months. You can either enter the complete instrument symbol, or you can type the symbol root, a pound sign, and, if necessary, a positive integer. The pound sign (#) integer entry serves as a month specifier, which enables you to specify an individual contract month in a formula. Using the month specifier eliminates the need to edit a formula that contains futures contracts when a futures contract expires.

To specify a lead month futures contract in a formula, use the following syntax:

<symbol_root>#

where <symbol_root> is the futures contract root. For example, entering SP# would cause the formula to utilize data from the S & P 500 lead month future.

To specify an out-month futures contract, use the following syntax:

<symbol_root>#<positive_integer>

where <symbol_root> is the futures contract root, and <positive_integer> is a positive integer. The positive integer causes the formula to utilize data from the respective out-month contract in calculating the formula (see footnote 1). For example, entering SP#1 causes a formula to utilize data from the first S&P 500 out-month future, SP#2 to utilize data from the second S&P 500 out-month future, and so on.